52 THE LAND-MARKS OF 



instances of the practice. The following curious 

 mention of the crime of using snakes as homici- 

 dal instruments, made in both ancient Hindu 

 and Mahommedan law, is referred to by Dr. 

 Chevers : — 

 Hindu and "If a man by violence throws into another 



Mahommedan , , , , • i i; 



law regarding, person s house a snakc or any other animal or 

 that kind, whose bite or sting is mortal, this is 

 snakish, i. e. violence. The magistrate shall 

 fine him five hundred puns of cowries, and make 

 him throw away the snake with his own hand." 

 (Halhed's Code of Gentoo laws, pp. 262, 263.) It 

 was enacted in the ancient Mahommedan law 

 that " If a person bring another into his house, 

 and put a wild beast into the room with him and 

 shut the dopr upon them, and the beast kill the 

 man, neither hisas nor diyai is incurred. And 

 it is the same if a snake or scorpion be put into 

 the house with a man, or, if they were there be- 

 fore, and sting him to death. But, if the suffer- 

 er be a child, the price of blood is payable." 

 Dr. Chevers mentions that some of Sir Thomas 

 Roe's suite were present at an execution by 

 snake-bite, ordered by the Mogul. It must 

 have been a horrible spectacle judging from the 

 account of the execution. 



